Cathy Parker, Director and Professor, Institute of Place Management (IPC) and Manchester Metropolitan University, UK at the OECD Conference on SMEs and the Urban Fabric, 15-16 April 2019, OECD Trento Centre, Italy. Full event info: https://oe.cd/SMEs-Cities

1. Improving the trading
environment through
collaboration
Professor Cathy Parker
Institute of Place Management
Manchester Metropolitan University

2. UK Town and City Centres

5. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Footfall (absolute values)
140,000,000 visits lost 2010-2018

6. • Over 400 retail chains have disappeared closing over
30,000 stores (Centre for Retail Research)
• BRC predict a further 900,000 retail job losses to
2025
• Vacancy rates reached a high of 40% in some towns
(Local Data Company)

7. Town centre retail spend falling
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
34.0%

8. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
The growth of online spending

9. -5.9
1.06
-1.38 -1.45
-0.13
-2.25
-2.59
-0.1
-1.37
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
% change in footfall
% change in footfall
Footfall down 13.22% 2010-2018

10. What is happening in individual
locations?

11. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
London South
East
East South
West
Scotland West
Midlands
North
East
Yorks East
Midlands
North
West
Wales
Regional differences in closures

12. 201 factors influence
vitality and viability

13. 1. How much influence each factor has on the vitality
and viability of a centre
2. How much control a location has over the factor
High Street UK 2020

14. Child-minding
centre
Deliveries
Location
Methods of
classification
Opening hours
Political climate
Spatial structure
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Forget it Live with it
Not worth it Get on with it!
How much each factor influences vitality and viability
Howmuchcontroloverafactor

15. ACTIVITY HOURS
APPEARANCE
OFFER
VISION&STRATEGY
EXPERIENCE
MANAGEMENT
MERCHANDISE
NECESSITIES
Anchors
NETWORKS &
PARTNERSHIPS
DIVERSITY
WALKING
ENTERTAINMENT AND
LEISURE
PLACE ASSURANCE
ATTRACTIVENESS
ACCESSIBLE
PLACE MARKETING
Comparison/convenience
RECREATIONAL SPACE
Barriers to Entry
Chain vs independent
Safety/crime
LIVEABLE
ADAPTABILITY
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
3.3 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.3 4.5 4.7
Howmuchtowncaninfluencefactor
How much factor influences vitality and viability
Top 25 factors

16. 0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
Theoretically
Really
How easy is to work together?

17. 183 UK town/city
centres
Hourly footfall
counts 24/7/365
Data from 2006
Footfall data

19. What does footfall tell us
about how centres are used?

20. Comparison Holiday
MultifunctionalSpeciality
Mumford , Parker C, Ntounis and Dargan (2017)
K-Means Clustering (Monthly)

21. •People come here predominantly to shop
•Busiest in the run up to Christmas
•People travel a considerable distance to visit
•Wide range of retail choice, leisure, food and beverage
•Strong retail anchor(s)
•Strong presence of multiples and international brands
•Depth and breadth of merchandising
•Large catchment area
•Accessible by choice of means of transport
•Organise themselves to compete with other comparison towns
and channels
Comparison signature

22. Comparison Holiday
MultifunctionalSpeciality
Mumford , Parker C, Ntounis and Dargan (2017)
K-Means Clustering (Monthly)

23. •People come here for a holiday or a 'day out'
•Busiest times are July and August - and days when the
weather is good
•People travel a considerable distance to visit
•Focus on offering a good experience to visitors during
the summer peak
•Attractive to tourists but may poorly serve local
catchment
•Organise themselves to increase and enhance their
entertainment and leisure appeal
Holiday signature

24. Comparison Holiday
MultifunctionalSpeciality
Mumford , Parker C, Ntounis and Dargan (2017)
K-Means Clustering (Monthly)

25. •People come here for the overall experience
•Footfall rises steadily from Easter to end of August -
and peaks again around Christmas time.
•People stay longer here (increased dwell time).
•Anchor(s) not retail - offer something unique and
special
•Attract visitors but serve local population
•Organise themselves to protect and promote identity
and positioning
Speciality signature

26. Comparison Holiday
MultifunctionalSpeciality
Mumford , Parker C, Ntounis and Dargan (2017)
K-Means Clustering (Monthly)

27. •People come for a mixture of everyday needs - shopping, accessing
public transport, employment, education, services etc.
•Multifunctional towns have higher footfall figures than than
community towns.
•People travel further to access multifunctional towns whilst
community towns just serve their local population.
•Community towns organise themselves to manage accessibility,
concentration, reliability, and customer service
•Multifunctional towns drive surrounding economies and should
support network of surrounding centres
Multifunctional/community signature

28. “..each firm follows its own agenda and
goals and may not see itself part of a
larger, value-added channel”
Van Brugge et al, 2010

29. How can actors collaborate?

30. Scrutiny
group
BID
Formal
Informal
Private
funding
Public
funding
Public-private
partnership
Community
interest
company
Traders’
Association
Civic Society
Town team
Town Centre
Management

32. Source : Institute of Place Management 2018: Scottish BIDs an Independent Review

33. Scrutiny
group
BID
Formal
Informal
Private
funding
Public
funding
Public-private
partnership
Community
interest
company
Traders’
Association
Civic Society
Town team
Town Centre
Management
Place
Leadership

34. Thank you!
www.placemanagement.org